A flight to Dubai carrying a major Israeli crew was delayed on Sunday after Saudi Arabia failed to grant permission to use its airport.
The flight was scheduled to carry a production team for the Survivor reality show to Dubai, from where they were heading to the Philippines, and Ben-Gurion International Airport was scheduled to depart at 7 a.m.
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Passengers at Ben-Gurion Airport await their flight to Dubai after Saudi Arabia suspended permission to use their airport
A source told Ynet that talks were underway to get Saudi permission.
Saudi Arabia began allowing Israel to use its airfield last year, when Israel signed treaty agreements with the UAE and Bahrain.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Civil Aviation Authorities were addressing this “sensitive and complex issue,” the source said. “We have submitted our application and are awaiting response. ”
The source also said the delay was not linked to the ongoing conflict with Jordan, which led to the recent cancellation of a flight by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Abu Dhabi.
On Thursday, Amman agreed to allow Netanyahu to use Jordanian airfield to attend a meeting with Emirati factor leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Netanyahu said Saturday that the UAE flight was canceled after it was interrupted by a flight instead through a Saudi airport due to the threat of a missile fire from Yemeni-based Iranian agents attacking targets in Saudi Arabia.
Instead of avoiding Jordanian airspace and taking a route further south over Saudi skies, Netanyahu told Channel 13 television, “There were also problems a week ago in Saudi Arabia’s skies.”
Netanyahu did not analyze, nor did he say his plane was targeted by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The prime minister maintained that the relationship between Jordan and Israel was positive, adding that “Jordan needs good relations with us unless we need a good relationship with Jordan.”
Jordan’s refusal to grant permission to use its airfield came after crown prince Jordan Hussein bin Abdullah on Wednesday stopped visiting Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem when Israel refused to allow dozens of armed security forces to enter into the Al-Aqsa mosque, which is under Jordanian conservation care.
“By the time we arranged things with the Jordanians,” Netanyahu said, “it was too late to fly, and we had to cancel the trip.”
Israeli officials said Jordan had broken earlier agreements on the security of the crown prince and when the visit.
The Prime Minister’s Office had blamed the Jordanians for Netanyahu’s inability to travel to the Gulf state.